


Aggressive Cuddling

by pencilguin



Category: Star Trek: Discovery
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-01
Updated: 2019-11-16
Packaged: 2021-01-16 17:01:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,759
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21274643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pencilguin/pseuds/pencilguin
Summary: No response, only the sound of standard-issued Starfleet uniform boots carelessly dropping to the floor in the corner next to the entrance, and then the quiet pat-pat-pat-pat of bare feet on the smooth floor, getting louder and closer with each step. Curiously, Hugh smiles to himself, until something heavy and soft and warm glomps him from behind, giving him a not insignificant shove towards the sink and the mirror and knocking the toothbrush out of his mouth.





	1. Glomp

**Author's Note:**

> Another one from Discord. I was told to post this here as well.  
Unbeta'd, sorry for any mistakes.

Hugh hears the door swish open without a warning or announcement. He smiles. This can only mean one person.

“Hey, honey,” he says, his voice carrying clearly through their quarters. “You’re not home as late as I expected.” Then he raises his toothbrush back to his mouth.

No response, only the sound of standard-issued Starfleet uniform boots carelessly dropping to the floor in the corner next to the entrance, and then the quiet pat-pat-pat-pat of bare feet on the smooth floor, getting louder and closer with each step. Curiously, Hugh smiles to himself, until something heavy and soft and warm glomps him from behind, giving him a not insignificant shove towards the sink and the mirror and knocking the toothbrush out of his mouth.

“Hey,” he says, but it’s with a chuckle. “Watch who you’re shoving.”

The face that’s buried into the nape of his neck merely emits a slightly muffled “Hrmm.”

Hugh straightens up his spine and presses back against the weight of Paul’s body leaning into him, providing the support unasked that he knows Paul wants right now.

“Sorry I started without you. If I had known you’d be home by now, I would’ve waited for you with getting ready for bed,” Hugh says softly, placing his free hand on top of where both of Paul’s meet on his stomach. He closes his eyes and focuses on the warmth of Paul’s arms wrapped around him.

“’s okay,” Paul just mutters, still into his neck, still not making any move.

“What’s wrong, babe?” Hugh tries to shift a little. This position doesn’t lend itself well to brushing teeth. But somehow all that happens is that they both start swaying in tandem, the tiniest bit, left and right, left and right, and he can’t tell for sure if it’s him or Paul who initiated it. It’s like an afterthought of a dance, or trying to rock yourself to sleep, perhaps. It feels comforting, so Hugh goes with it. “Bad day in engineering?”

“Mhmm.”

“I’m sorry. Do you wanna talk about it?”

“M-m.” That’s a “no”, then.

“Do you wanna get ready for bed and cuddle before sleeping?”

“M-m.” Another “no”.

“What _do_ you want?” Hugh asks.

Paul turns his head just a little; it’s now his cheek, rather than his lips and his nose, pressing against Hugh’s neck. His breath still travels warmly across Hugh’s skin when he speaks. “Stay here. Like this.”

Hugh laughs. “Okay then.”

He feels his muscles relax, slowly, and even believes to sense some tension and exhaustion drain out of Paul’s body, but after a while, Hugh starts to feel himself get sleepy. He also remembers Paul’s naked feet, and wonders if he’s getting cold. It’s still a bad position for tooth brushing.

“Hey,” he whispers softly, and a quiet hum is all the response he gets, almost making him wonder if Paul just fell asleep like this. “C’mon, let’s get ready for bed. You’re probably getting cold, I’m tired, and I can’t really do anything like this.”

“No.” It does actually sound sleepy.

Hugh chuckles. “For a scientist, you can be really unreasonable.”

“I hate that you’re the smart _and_ beautiful one.”

“No, you don’t.”

Paul doesn’t respond, but Hugh can tell that he is smiling.

He indulges him for one more silent minute, then peels away Paul’s arms and turns around, to noises of protest that don’t cease until he presses a kiss to Paul’s cheek.

“Come on, honey,” Hugh says softly. “Let’s brush our teeth and wash your face, and then I can help you into your pajamas and we can cuddle as aggressively as you want.”

Finally, Paul smiles, gives him a kiss on the lips, and reaches for his toothbrush.


	2. Cling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _He’s gotten so immersed in his work that the sound of an automatic door swishing open barely registers with him, and with his back turned to most of the room he doesn’t notice the person walking in._   
_That is, until two strong arms suddenly wrap around him from behind, and a warm body presses against his back, and soft lips kiss the nape of his neck._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Found another one.   
Unbeta'd as well, sorry for any mistakes.

It’s late, and Paul’s tired. For a moment only, he lets his thoughts linger on the fact that Hugh is home, probably sleeping soundly up in their quarters, and _fuck_, Paul wishes he could be as well. But there’s still work to do, and the captain is probably expecting results in the morning, and Paul happens to be on the gamma shift, and we can’t always get what we want.

He sighs, and puts the thoughts of Hugh and a comfy bed back into storage.

In fact, Tilly is looking a little bleary-eyed herself as she passes behind him to put the spore container she just filled into the shelf on the wall, then grabs an empty one and, with a tired smile at him, exits again through the door towards the cultivation bay.

_Poor girl’s been working so hard all week_, Paul thinks, and yeah, okay, maybe he’s grown really fond of her by now. What’s the point in denying it, really? It’s not like everyone on the ship doesn’t know it. He decides to let her off when she gets back, even though it’ll likely be another hour until the end of their shift.

He rubs at his eyes and stretches a bit, hoping to shake off the tiredness that is taking hold of him as well. Then he tries to focus back on his work, picking at lines and lines of code until they make sense and do what he wants them to.

He’s gotten so immersed in his work that the sound of an automatic door swishing open barely registers with him, and with his back turned to most of the room he doesn’t notice the person walking in.

That is, until two strong arms suddenly wrap around him from behind, and a warm body presses against his back, and soft lips kiss the nape of his neck.

“Good evening,” Hugh’s gentle voice whispers in his ear, and the goosebumps are immediate.

“Hugh!” Paul’s a little embarrassed by how much Hugh’s surprise hug has startled him, that he’s been paying so little attention to his surroundings again.

“How’s my favorite scientist doing tonight?” Hugh mumbles against his skin, not letting go in the slightest. If anything, he squeezes Paul a little tighter, pulls him even closer.

“Tired, but I’ve still got some more work to do.” Paul’s lips curl into a smile all on their own as he relaxes into the embrace. “What’re you doing down here at this hour?”

“Couldn’t sleep.” Hugh’s voice still comes out muffled against the back of his neck and his head. “Missed you.” His hands start wandering up and down Paul’s torso, curiously. Paul starts to feel the heat rising in his body. “A lot.”

“I can feel that,” he mutters, with Hugh’s body pressed against his back like this, his crotch against Paul’s ass, and Hugh only wearing the thin Starfleet pajamas and a light bathrobe that he didn’t bother to tie closed. He grins, though.

Hugh just hums into his hair in response, his hands ever exploring, and hmm, yeah, this feels nice, _really_ nice, although Paul’s distantly aware that his attention _should_ be elsewhere right now.

“I… I still have work to do here, dear doctor.” He tries to put some sternness into his voice, but it’s not working as well as usual, it seems. “And besides, Ensign Tilly will return from collecting spores any minute.”

“And?” Hugh asks, his voice languid and relaxed. Paul would think he’s about to fall asleep if his fingers weren’t trying to sneak under the hem of his uniform jacket right now. Yeah, he’s pretty sure that Hugh knows _exactly_ what he’s doing here. “She knows about us.”

“That’s not the point,” Paul tries to argue. “Actually, I was planning on sending her home for tonight.”

“Even better,” Hugh says cheerfully. “Will give us some more privacy.”

Paul scoffs, but he’s still smiling patiently. “I _still_ have work to do here, Hugh. And my work isn’t going to do itself.”

Hugh turns his head to whisper into his ear. “Neither is mine.”

His words have exactly the desired effect, or so Paul assumes, as his heart stutters and his breath catches and his train of thought instantly derails. Of course, the fact that Hugh’s hands have wandered down, assisting his mouth to make a point, helps his case a lot. Paul feels himself getting excited as well.

“I can’t focus like this,” he mutters, in a feeble defense attempt.

“That was the plan,” Hugh says contentedly. Paul opens his mouth to protest, but he adds, “You’ve been working so much all week. Call it a night, boo. You deserve some rest and… relaxation.” Paul can hear the grin in his last word.

“What about Tilly?” he asks weakly.

“Send her to bed, too. She’s been working almost as many hours as you lately.”

Shoving Paul slightly forward with him, Hugh leans over towards Paul’s console and sends a message to the next shift, asking if any of them can start early. (Allegedly, he’s been told to end his shift early on doctor’s orders. Paul raises an eyebrow; not that it matters if Hugh can see it or not.) The response is swift, as Haynes agrees to be there in five minutes.

Paul lets out a slow, relieved exhale. He hates to admit it, but he could really use some of that rest Hugh recommended. His eyes flicker to the door leading to the cultivation bay. He’s still wrapped in Hugh’s arms.

“Just comm her,” Hugh suggests.

Paul opens a comm channel to call her communicator. “Stamets to Tilly. Ensign, I’ve called for the next shift to get here a little early.”

_“Huh?”_ she responds, clearly surprised by this rather unusual behavior. _“Okay, sir.”_

“Once you’ve filled and loaded that container, you’re free to go home for tonight. I—” Hugh seems to find it funny to start kissing his neck again, giggling quietly right next to Paul’s ear— “I’ll wait for them to get here.”

_“Oh!”_ Paul wonders if she heard Hugh over the comm. _“Uh, of course, sir. Umm — actually, it’s fine if you want to leave now, sir, I’ll wrap everything up here and wait for them to arrive. You can go, I’ve got this.”_

_Well_, Paul thinks, _guess that answers that question._

He smiles. “Thank you, ensign. Have a good night.”

_“You too, sir. Um, doctor.”_

“Good night, Tilly!” Hugh responds cheerfully. Paul’s ears turn bright pink. He runs a hand over his face and ends the call.

“They grow up so fast,” Hugh muses. He kisses Paul’s cheek, and starts shoving him towards the exit. “See, she’s got this. Let’s go home.”

Paul sighs dramatically. “Yes, dear doctor, whatever you say.” To be honest, of course, he’s looking forward to some rest. And to that promised relaxation.


End file.
